Postal Woes: Rain, Snow, Sleet -- And Campaign Mail

August 28, 1988|By Peter Mitchell of The Sentinel Staff

LEESBURG — Pity the postal workers of the 6th Congressional District.

While pundits ponder the presumptive favorite in the GOP race to replace U.S. Rep. Buddy MacKay, D-Ocala, it is letter carriers who must carry the campaign on their backs. These days, they are lugging letters, leaflets and tabloids that candidates are anxious to get out before the Sept. 6 primary.

''It's a tough audience to tap into except for mail,'' says Reb Wayne, campaign manager of candidate Roy Abshier, referring to the Republicans in this six-county Central Florida district. ''One of the keys may end up being who has a better mailing list.''

With no single media market and little time, the three favorites in the six-way race are counting heavily on their mailed messages, according to financial reports filed this week and interviews with campaign workers. Nothing holds them back -- sometimes, not even the truth.

''A committed Republican,'' begins a Republican-targeted mass mailing for candidate Cliff Stearns, an Ocala businessman. ''Cliff has served the GOP since moving to Florida in 1977. Through the years, he has consistently . . . supported and worked for Republican candidates and causes.''

What the mailing does not say is that Stearns registered with the Democratic Party in 1978. It was not until 1983 that he joined the GOP.

Asked about the contrast, Stearns says: ''Good point . . . It should have said 'conservative issues.' ''

Candidate Jim Cherry's claim to Republican politics is valid. But some of his opponents have privately questioned another portion of his campaign literature.

One brochure includes the quote: ''Jim Cherry represents the best tradition in American public service . . . Citizens for the Republic is fully supportive of Jim.'' Underneath the quote, in bold letters, is the name Ronald Reagan, who is described a ''founder and chairman emeritus.''

Another piece of campaign literature has President Reagan's picture next to the quote.

But Reagan is not endorsing Cherry. A California-based political action committee, which Reagan used for his 1976 and 1980 campaigns, is. A White House spokesman says: ''I think what happened is this committee gave money to the candidate. That is not to be construed as an endorsement by the president.''

Cherry says voters should easily recognize that it is the committee's statement, not Reagan's. ''It doesn't say President Reagan,'' he said. ''It says Ronald Reagan, founder and chairman emeritus.''

The political action committee, Campaign for the Republic, gave $5,000, the maximum contribution allowed by law. That should please Cherry. His first mailing alone cost almost $12,000, according to his report to the Federal Election Commission.

The campaign has been costly for every candidate. All six have loaned money to their campaigns, their FEC reports show. Marion County Commission Chairman Abshier, who has received $23,665, doubled his campaign chest with $27,900 in loans. Cherry, who has $42,489 in contributions, loaned his campaign $18,000. Stearns, with $43,906 so far, loaned $25,000.

Candidate Norman Cates, an industrial safety consultant from Ocala, has taken in only $5,262 this year; $4,000 of that was a loan to his campaign. The two other candidates, Lecanto retiree Larry Gallagher and Inverness lawyer Ken Stepp, have counted almost entirely on their own money.

''The problem is the late start,'' says Wayne, explaining why the money is not coming from contributions. ''People are waiting to see what will happen in a crowded field.''

House speaker Jon Mills, the only Democrat in the race, has not had trouble raising money. He leads every candidate, with $132,576 in contributions. He has spent $64,101 of that so far -- about half of which went toward salaries for campaign workers.

Not surprisingly, with so much money being demanded from the candidates, the GOP race has produced calls for campaign reform. Stearns calls the current system ''robbery,'' and Abshier has suggested that the political parties run the primaries.

Under Abshier's plan, each political party would schedule forums in towns around the district, where voters would gather to hear what the candidates had to say. Candidates could only spend what each party supplied.

Both Abshier and Stearns are eager to start working for the reforms they have planned -- if they get elected to Congress.